$16 million combo purchase at 15 USW set to break nabe records?

From left: Tim Rothman of the Corcoran Group, the exterior of 15 Union Square West and the interior of penthouse 11

The sale of two units at Brack Capital Real Estate’s condominium conversion at 15 Union Square West may be set to shatter records for the sale of a single-family home on the square, the Corcoran Group’s Timothy Rothman told The Real Deal yesterday, since the new owner plans to combine them into one duplex spread.

Rothman, a vice president at Corcoran on the Spiegelman team, represented a mystery foreign buyer in the deal for penthouse 11 and unit 10B at the building, which closed together yesterday for between $16 million and $17 million, he said, though he declined to give a specific price. The units were not on the market as a combination; their individual asking prices were $10.7 million and $6.5 million respectively. Rothman would not reveal the identity of the buyer due to a confidentiality agreement.

“I believe it’s the largest apartment ever sold on Union Square,” Rothman said. “Obviously it’s more than one apartment, but it’s going to be a single-family home.”

Another unit, 30, closed for $10.8 million in the building last December, but no Union Square deals have come close to matching this combo $16 million sale, Rothman said.

Together, the pad will have a total of six bedrooms and 5,311 square feet. Penthouse 11, which played host to an event thrown by Avenue magazine last summer, has three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and a 1,385-square-foot wraparound terrace and a total of 2,912 square feet. Meanwhile, unit 10B also has three bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and 2,399 square feet in total.

Shlomi Reuveni, president of Brown Harris Stevens Select, who handled sales exclusively for the building, represented the developer in the transaction, which has not yet hit public records. He did not return calls for comment by press time.

The 19th century building, at East 15th Street, was originally built as a headquarters for Tiffany & Co. and was converted into 36 condominiums in 2007. Sales launched at the building in March 2008, and there have since been some resales.

There are currently only four unsold units remaining in the building, according to data from Streeteasy.com. They range from one- to three-bedroom homes and are priced between $3 million and $5 million apiece.

“They’ve done a lot of sales in the building in the fourth quarter,” Rothman said, referencing a recent surge in interest from foreign buyers, which has been seen at other New York City projects as well. “I’m getting calls every day [from foreign buyers.]”